Double Date
by Interrobanger
Summary: Everyone had said it was a great idea, at least at first they did. They may have changed their minds at some point and not shared that with the group, but initially, they did all agree it was a great idea.


A/N Thank you to those of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed my last story (Tried, Try, and Trying). I haven't forgotten it, but I had to get this story down before I could let myself go back.  
>This is a little future-fic, set around a year after Paige met the team. I know there are a few places where I switch POV incorrectly, call me out on it if it disrupts your reading.<p>

* * *

><p>2015<p>

Everyone had said it was a great idea, at least at first they did. They may have changed their minds at some point and not shared that with the group, but initially, they did all agree it was a great idea.

They had been in the garage all day, no jobs that week equaled free time for everyone, everyone but Paige. Paige had been at her desk for the past three hours, compiling report summaries for Cabe and the director. She was tired of it, she wanted to get out, stretch her legs, and calm the fluttering in her stomach. Seeing that Happy was alone in her area of the garage, Paige decided to go over and talk to her. "Happy, do you want to get ready at my place?" Paige asked, looking at her friend.

"Why would I want to do that? All of my things are here." Happy replied, not looking up from the go-kart she had been working on all week.

Paige had to resist the urge to say, _Normally, when going on a double date, if the girls are friends, they will get ready together_. She opted for, "It will be fun, c'mon!"

"We could get ready here, it would be more efficient," Happy offered, still not moving her eyes from the engine. It was a gift for Ralph, it had to work properly; it had to be safe.

"Then they can't pick us up, and then they see us getting ready before we want them to." _I shouldn't have to explain this_, she thought, looking at her friend and then around the room to make sure neither Toby nor Walter were close enough to hear.

"What's the benefit of them picking us up?"

"That's what makes it a date," Paige said, flatly.

"What's the problem with them seeing us before you want them to see us?"

"It might be a crazy notion, but I want Toby to be as surprised to see you as possible."

"What does that mean?" Happy asked, finally looking at Paige.

Paige smiled at Happy. "Pretend we're going under cover again, we'll dress up and put on makeup, fix our hair; the whole nine yards."

Happy considered this for a second, and then she asked, "What do I need to bring with me?"

"Anything dressy you might want to wear, whatever makeup that you have, and ALL of your hair products!" Paige gushed, bouncing side to side.

"What if we're too … dressy?" Happy asked, looking back down at the go-kart.

Paige thought a moment; this was an issue that normal girls dealt with every time they went on a date. Inspiration struck Paige and she smiled. "I will take care of that!" she said and then she quickly walked away.

Sylvester was still standing by his chalk board, where he had been all morning.

"Sylvester, I need a favor," she started.

"You mean besides watching Ralph while you all go on a date?" he said, interrupting her.

Paige's face deflated a little, she hadn't even considered how much it could upset Sylvester to not be invited.

"To be fair, you were supposed to be judging at Ribet's competition this weekend," she said with a small smile.

"Why did they have to cancel it, Paige, _why_?" Sylvester asked. He was more upset than anyone else had been, it had bothered him since they got the call on Thursday.

"I'm sorry the other school had to reschedule, that's what happens when the other school's Math Program Director gets the flu: she stays home to not get her kids sick."

"She knew she couldn't win," Sylvester muttered. "Back to your favor, what do you need?" he asked.

"Happy and I are going to dress up for this double date, we need to make sure that Walter and Toby are on the same page that we are, without actually telling them where to take us or what we expect," she said.

"Happy has expectations?" Sylvester asked, confused.

Paige narrowed her eyes slightly. "I have expectations for what she should expect."

"How can I help?"

"You can tell Walter and Toby that we will be in cocktail attire, but not so fancy that they should be in a tuxedo."

"How casual can Toby go before he looks like the valet parking the car? And are there any other details that I would need to share with them?" he asked.

"Toby shouldn't be in anything that looks like what he'd wear to work. I will consider answering specific questions as we're getting ready, but I reserve the right to not answer them too."

"Anything else?" Sylvester asked, smiling. He knew Paige had gotten the knack of answering questions not yet asked, the efficiency of it pleased everyone.

"Please don't let Ralph stay up too late; I know he thinks it's fun, but he's a little boy first, and little boys need rest," Paige answered.

"Understood."

"I'm going to get Happy and head to my place," Paige said. She started to back up and walk away when she said, "Call if you need us."

Happy was packing items into what looked like an old tool bag when Paige returned.

"I'm almost ready," Happy said.

"Is there anything I can grab for you?"

"No, it's all in here."

"Shoes too?"

"Yes, shoes too." Happy replied, mimicking the cadence in Paige's voice.

It wasn't a long drive back to Paige's apartment; she had moved a little closer to the garage when her lease was up for renewal. She wanted to be close to the team for Ralph, for a safer apartment, a nicer apartment, and because everyone kept going on and on about how efficient it would be.

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower really quick, you can either start getting ready or watch TV, whatever you want to do," Paige said after she opened the front door.

"Alright," Happy replied.

Paige didn't wait to see what Happy chose, she went straight to her bathroom and turned on the shower. She remembered to get a towel and her robe before she undressed, just in case Happy needed her for something.

* * *

><p>Happy walked around Paige's apartment, she had never gone to her old apartment, so she had nothing to compare it to. It wasn't as big as the shared living space at the garage, but for her and Ralph, it was more than adequate. She set her bag down on the couch and took off her leather jacket, then her shoes and socks. Happy wasn't a shy person, but she knew it would be prudent to close the blinds before she went any further getting undressed.<p>

It didn't take long for Happy to get redressed. She pulled her hair back and slipped the elastic off of her wrist to secure it in place. She knew Paige had been in the shower for only seven minutes, and contemplated turning on the TV. She went to the kitchen first for a glass of water, opening three cabinets before she found the glasses.

_Loose_, she told herself. She looked back to the hallway that Paige had disappeared into, she knew that Paige would be in the shower for at least another ten minutes. _She won't mind_, Happy thought as she walked back to her tool bag. After grabbing her spare multi-tool, she went back to the kitchen and started to tighten the cabinet door pulls on the doors that she had opened. Happy then continued on to each door and drawer in the kitchen, of the 38 that she had tested, only the set above the refrigerator weren't loose. As Happy was standing on the counter, leaning over the fridge to check the door pulls she heard a distinctly loud, repetitive, almost clicking noise.

She got down from the counter and looked at the fridge, a Maytag side-by-side refrigerator. When she opened the fridge she noticed two things: it was almost empty, and it wasn't as cold as it should have been; the thermometer showed that it was 46°; she smiled, she hadn't worked on a fridge in a long time.

With her hands placed on either side of the fridge she squeezed, tilted it forward to allow it to roll on the wheels, far enough away from the wall so that she could get behind it. Once she was behind the fridge she noticed the back panel had come loose, she laid on her side to get a better view. It was incredibly dusty for a newer refrigerator, in part because the panel wasn't attached. She also noticed a thin cylinder wedged by the side panel, being hit by each fan blade as it passed. It wasn't difficult to dislodge, and once she did she realized it was a pen from Ralph's school, Ribit Academy.

"Happy? What are you doing?" Paige asked.

Happy maneuvered her head in such a way that she could see Paige standing in the entryway to the kitchen, wrapped in a floral robe. "Could you get the compressed air canister out of my tool bag?" Happy asked.

"Can you answer my question?"

"Please get me the compressed air and I will answer your question." Happy replied, her neck straining to support holding her head off of the ground at such a strange angle.

She saw Paige walk away and waited for her to return.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked as she handed her the can.

"I am fixing your fridge," she said as she positioned the canister. She turned her head away before she pressed the trigger, which kept the dust from flying in her face but also left the rest of her head open for the dust to settle on. She peaked her head back, repositioned the canister and pressed the trigger again, she did this twice more before she was satisfied that the dust had been knocked off of any crucial components. Happy smiled, triumphantly. She looked at Paige and asked, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Exactly!" Happy exclaimed as she turned to reattach the back panel.

"So when I said you could either get dressed, watch TV, or do whatever, you opted for whatever?" Paige asked, a small smile on her lips.

"Not exactly, I did change. Then I wanted water and I noticed that your cabinet hardware was loose, so I tightened it, and then I heard the fridge and decided I should check it out. By the way, you should throw out all of the food in there, it wasn't held at the right temperature."

"You didn't change," Paige said. "You're wearing the exact same thing as when I left, just without the jacket."

"No, those pants were denim, these pants are … also denim, but they have extra pockets." Happy said.

"Happy," Paige started, "I don't know where we're going, but I specifically said that Toby couldn't wear anything that he'd wear to work, the same goes to you. What else did you bring?"

"Nothing," Happy said quietly.

"Follow me," Paige said as she turned away. They walked back to Paige's bedroom. "I know you remember the Valentino job."

"Yeah, the assistant was selling the discarded sketches."

Paige smiled, "He was a cheap bastard," Paige said. "He didn't want to just pay us, he wanted to barter. I got him to pay everyone else's portion, and I got him to give me some merchandise."

"What?"

Paige was in her closet, pulling out garment bags. "I may have underestimated how big a difference regular clothes sizing is different from designer sizing."

"And that's important because?"

"It's good news for you," Paige said, smiling. She handed her friend two garment bags.

"I'm not just a different size than you, Paige. I'm also seven inches shorter than you."

"Which would be a problem if they were both long dresses, or even both dresses at all. I'm not sure how the cream one will fit on you…. Just try them on."

Happy was reluctant to change again, she was comfortable in what she had on.

"Remember when I said that I wanted Toby to be surprised to see you?"

"Yes," Happy replied.

"Try them on," she repeated.

Happy took the bags and headed back out of the closet.

"Wait," Paige said, stopping her. "First, brush out your hair, because that dust is all over you. Wash your face, too."

Happy went to the bathroom to do as Paige had instructed. She took a fresh wash cloth and ran it under the hot water, then carefully wiped her face off, and her neck and shoulders where they had been exposed. Since she was already in there, she decided to change in the bathroom. After taking off her own shirt, she slipped the cream colored blouse on, and went back to Paige's room.

Paige had put on a dress while she waited. "What do you think?" Paige asked.

"It's unbalanced, the color is a little jarring, and unless you own a supportive strapless bra, I'd put that one back."

Paige was a little taken aback that Happy was able to give such a critique, she wasn't exactly a fashion expert, but each point was valid. She smiled, recognizing the points that Happy had made. The dress was a little bold for a double date.

"On you, that blouse is more of a dress, did you try it without the pants?" Paige asked, turning the conversation back to Happy.

"No," Happy said, moving to take her pants off while she turned around. "Is this better?"

"Now you look like you're wearing a towel, a satin towel, but still a towel."

Happy looked in the full length mirror that hung on Paige's bedroom door. She saw the resemblance of her wrapped in a towel and her in that dress. "I'll go try the other one on," she said as she left.

She took the garment off carefully, making sure to hang it exactly as it had been before and put it back into the zippered bag. She pulled the other dress out and looked at it; _this is crazy_, she thought. It had hung from the hanger lifelessly, it was shimmery, but not sparkly. Happy hated sparkles.

"That one has a zipper in the back, let me know if you need help with it," Paige said from the other side of the door.

"Do you need help with yours?" Happy asked, following Paige's lead.

"No, not yet. Take your time, the one I just put on is too… poufy," she said with a little laugh.

Happy had the second dress off of the hanger, it wasn't heavy, but it had a heft to it that she didn't expect. The color was much darker than the first dress, it reminded her of her of the wrench set she had cleaned that morning. The color was uniform from a distance, but up close she notice subtle differences, the way the light bounced off of the fabric was distracting. She unzipped it and put it on.

"I think I can zip it on my own," Happy said, loudly, with her hands behind her back.

"Okay, I'm ready, let me know if you need help, or just come out here."

Happy had the back zipped easily, and she walked out of the bathroom on her tip toes. "Do you think the shoes I brought will work?" Happy asked.

"Uh, I haven't seen them, but you look … _amazing_," Paige said, a little surprised.

"I like that dress better on you than the first one." Happy offered.

"What?"

"The first one wasn't as attractive on you, this one is form fitting and suitable for your shape."

"Thanks, we can talk about me in a minute," Paige said, picking up her dress. "Are those shoes in your bag?" she asked as she walked away.

"Yes, not the ones that I wore here, but those are on the floor, so you wouldn't confuse them."

"I'll just bring the whole bag," she said loudly.

It didn't take her long, the living room was next to the bedrooms and in less time than it took Happy to diagnose the problem with the refrigerator, Paige was back again.

Paige handed her the shoes that she pulled out of the bag. "I didn't know you owned strappy heals."

Happy knew it wasn't exactly a question, but she decided to answer it like it had been. "They had been an experiment."

Paige smiled, ready to ask her friend what kind of an experiment needed $900 Gucci shoes. She heard her phone vibrate on the bed and knew that she would have to ask about the shoes later.

"Hi Sylvester, how are you and Ralph?"

Happy knew Sylvester was answering her, but she couldn't hear him. She awkwardly stood on one foot while she put her first shoe on, and then switched legs to do the second shoe.

"You tell Toby to remember how ridiculous that question is when he sees Happy. Yes, he has to wear a suit. An actual suit," Paige clarified.

Happy looked around Paige's room while she waited, she was thankful that Paige wanted to guide everyone through this process, it had been a very long time since she had been on a date. She noticed a third dress on the floor; _animal print_, she thought. _Good move_, Happy wanted to tell Paige, _Walter has oddly strong feelings about animal print_.

"Happy, want to give me a review on this dress?" Paige asked.

She turned back to her friend. "It is better than the other two," Happy said pointing to the dresses on the floor. "The color suits you, the rib detail is flattering, and it fits you from shoulder to toe perfectly, if you wear a three inch heal."

"This one's the winner then," she said, smiling. "They're about twenty minutes away. Is that enough time for you to do hair and makeup?"

"Does that mean that my hair isn't acceptable?" Happy asked.

"Did you bring your hair curler?"

Happy recognized what Paige was going to ask her. "I'll start on that."

"Do your makeup while it heats up," Paige said. "It'll be more efficient."

They finished getting ready in silence. Happy was nervous, a feeling she was unused to. Her makeup was simple, she didn't like to wear it; it felt dishonest somehow. Her hair was easy to do, she didn't curl it often, but she was familiar with the process. She kept the elastic on her wrist, _just in case_, she thought.

* * *

><p>"We should stop for flowers," Walter said, suddenly.<p>

"What?" Toby asked, distracted by his own thoughts.

"We should buy them flowers, they would like that. How do we determine what color flowers to buy?" Walter said, deciding that flowers would happen.

"Well, what do you want the flowers to mean? What do you want them to say?"

"I… I don't know," Walter said.

Toby's nervousness was feeding off of Walter's nervousness, an event that neither had experienced before. "Red roses are iconic for love, maybe a bit much. Asters are also a romance related flower, as are alstroemeria, pink stargazer lilies, peonies," Toby rattled off.

Walter was searching for images of each flower as fast as he could. He stopped when his search returned a flower that didn't match the others.

"Should we buy them separate flowers?" Toby asked.

"I think I found something. What do forget-me-nots mean?"

"Well, the name kind of says it all…." Toby said, his nervousness mixing with his confusion and not producing an attractive outcome.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Walter said, pressing the button to lower the partition between the front and back of the limo.

"Yes, sir?" Jason responded, politely.

"Can we make a small detour? We need to get some flowers."

"Do you have a place in mind, sir?"

"Not really, but we can find something online."

"My sister runs a flower shop about two miles back, I can call her and make sure she stays open until we get there," he offered.

"I didn't even think about the possibility that the stores would be closing," Walter said to Toby. "Yes, please call her, whatever it takes."

"There's another hundred in it for you, Jason!" Toby shouted.

They were fortunate enough to have been running ahead of schedule before, so the detour wouldn't affect their arrival time by more than 15 minutes. "Should we call and tell them our ETA?"

"I will text Paige, that way it's just a friendly update," Toby said.

The car pulled slightly to the left and slowed to a stop. "My sister says to come on in, shall I open your door sir?"

"We can manage!" Toby shouted throwing the door open, Walter wasn't far behind him. He threw the florist door open too and immediately started sneezing. "We need flowers!" He shouted between sneezes.

"Are you my brother's clients?" The tall woman behind the counter asked.

"Depending on how many brothers you have, my level of certainty in answering that question will go up or down, but for now, I'm 87% certain we are," Walter said, curtly.

"Do you know what you're looking for," she asked, unfazed.

"Do you have forget-me-nots?" He asked. When she nodded her head and pointed to the area beside him, he said, "Then he probably needs your help more than I do."

"Okay. What's the occasion?" she asked turning to Toby.

He sneezed before he could say, "First date."

"What colors does she like?"

"None of them," he replied.

"Is she color blind?" the woman asked.

"Only about half a percent of women are colorblind; No, she isn't colorblind. She just likes black and white." Toby managed to say without sneezing.

"So a white flower, because there's no way in hell I'm letting a man take a woman black flowers for a first date," she said, adding quietly, "Even if he is a bit strange." She started listing off white flowers that she had on hand.

Toby listened to her as she listed each one, some he recognized from their limited research. "Jasmine!" he shouted, stopping her.

"Yes," she said, turning to her assistant that no one had noticed standing in the door frame. "Please pull the jasmine flowers, we'll need to make an arrangement." She then turned to Walter, "Do you need some help with the forget-me-nots? We can make an arrangement for you." She told him.

"Yes, I would appreciate that very much. Also, if it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me how much we owe you before you're assistant is finished? We need to be leaving."

Walter spoke with the woman behind the counter while Toby looked at his phone. When he first searched jasmine, he got the Disney princess, and when he added flower to the search he received the results he was hoping for. They were small flowers, mostly white, some with a noticeable yellow center, others without. They looked almost delicate, but he knew they weren't a fragile flower. _Happy will like them_, he told himself.

"Toby? TOBY!" Walter shouted. "We have to go. Here, take these," he said, putting the arrangement in his hand.

They were back in the limo and on their way before Toby realized what he was holding. Flowers, flowers for the date that he was about to go on, flowers for the date he was about to go on with Happy. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said.

"Don't." Walter told him.

"Don't what?"

"Don't be sick."

"Don't be sick? I don't think it works like that, Walter." Toby was annoyed now.

"Do you think you're the only one who is uncertain how this evening will go? I don't want to say that I am panicking, because we've all dealt with much more stressful events than this, but on a scale of 1 to 100, I'm easily at a 90 for being concerned."

"Is this the first time either of you've been on a date?" the driver asked.

"No," they both replied.

"Then what's the problem? You show up, take them to dinner, talk to them, and then take them home again."

"It's not that simple, these aren't women we've just met; they are our friends and if this goes as terribly as it could, we've also just ruined our business relationships too." Walter responded.

"Yeah, and I will have alienated a woman that could kill me, dismantle me, and dispose of me in under an hour." Toby added.

"We're five minutes to the destination, are you going to be able to pull it together?"

"Yes," they both said.

"What are you nervous about," Toby asked. "Paige has had feelings for you since the first time she saw you with Ralph. When you became a father figure for that boy, she fell in love."

"I care about Ralph, regardless if Paige and I … work out. He is important to me."

"Don't act like you're immune to your feelings for Paige. For a guy who's always said he had no feelings…. Actually, that may have been true once, you may have had no feelings, but she's cured you of that problem."

"I think we're here, gentlemen." Jason said.

Walter looked out of the window. "Okay, park on the left side, she's in this building," he said. "Do you think we should call them?" Walter asked Toby.

"I don't want to interrupt whatever they're doing; maybe we should text instead," Toby said, pulling his phone back out of his pocket.

"Don't do that," Jason said, stopping them both.

"Why?" they said in unison.

"If it were me, taking my girl out on this date, I'd meet her at the door with those flowers."

"Smart, very smart. Walter, we should do that," Toby said.

Before Toby knew exactly how the next two minutes were going to pan out, Jason had opened the door. "I'll be here when you get back, remember to hold her hand when she's getting in." Jason offered.

"Good man, good man," Toby said quietly.

They walked up to the door in relative silence. Toby heard his shoes hitting the pavement, felt his heart racing with adrenalin, he could smell the flowers he held in his hand, but he kept his eyes on the door, not letting anything distract him.

Walter knocked on the door using the 'shave and a haircut, two bits' beat pattern. Toby didn't like to exaggerate, he might use strange analogies, he might stretch the truth, but he didn't like to exaggerate. From the moment Walter's knuckles hit the last beat on the door, to the moment that it opened was no more than thirty five seconds, but to Toby those thirty five seconds changed his life.

"As the leader of this company, do we have something in the company protocol that would prevent either of us from-"

"From what?" Paige asked as she opened the door, only hearing the last part of Toby's question.

"Nothing, you know me, I never stop talking," Toby replied. He noticed Walter smoothing out his tie, again.

"That's the truth," Happy said.

Paige opened the door entirely. Toby's mind stopped working in a way that it never had before_. She's beautiful_, he thought. _She's always been beautiful_, he told himself.

"Uh, these are for you," Walter said, offering the small arrangement of blue flowers to Paige.

"Thank you, and come in. I'll put these in water," Paige said as she back up to let them in.

Toby knew Paige and Walter had left the entry way, but he was rooted at the same spot. He had seen Happy in a dress before, maybe half a dozen times over the last four years, but this time she looked stunning.

"Got something to say, Doc?" she asked, her lips hinting at a smile.

"Yes," he said before he realized that he was actually talking and not just thinking loudly. He tried to recover by saying, "These are for you," and he handed her the jasmine flowers.

"Thank you, not that it's my place, but do you want to come in, or are we going to stand here until they come back?" Happy asked.

"I'm sorry, I've just never seen you – "

"What, in a dress before?" Happy said, cutting him off.

"No, no, I was going to say I've never seen you so…." His voice trailed off.

"Look, Paige wouldn't tell me where we're going, so if I'm over dressed, I'll go change," Happy said.

"Paige doesn't know where we're going," Paige said, as she walked back to the front door. "Happy, I set out another vase for your flowers, would you like me to bring it out here?"

"No, I will take care of them," Happy replied, not taking her eyes off of Toby.

"Did you grab your bag from the bedroom?" Paige asked her, noticing that she wasn't looking at her.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Paige, can I talk to you outside?" Walter asked.

As Walter and Paige went outside, Happy walked back to the kitchen with Toby following behind her.

"Did you enjoy getting ready with Paige?"

"I did, it was a successful experiment, and not as inefficient as I thought it would be," Happy answered.

"Happy," Toby started, but he wasn't prepared for her to look at him head on. "You look absolutely, absolutely… astonishing."

She looked away from Toby briefly before saying, "Thank you. It's Paige's dress, she insisted that I couldn't wear pants."

Toby decided he wanted to find a way to prevent Paige from asking for the dress back._ I'll pay her whatever she wants for it_, he thought.

"Are you ready to go?" Toby said, offering her his arm.

"Yes, I think I am."

They walked back to the door quickly, Happy grabbed the bag she had placed on the entry way table and turned to open the door.

"Wait, Happy," Toby said. "No matter how tonight goes, I want you to know something."

She looked at him with a look that plainly asked, _What's that_?

"I hope you have a great time, I hope we all have a great time tonight, but I wouldn't have planned it as our first date. I would have planned something that you would have liked."

"Like what?" she asked, almost too quietly.

"Like a monster truck rally," he said, half joking to himself. "No, a video game arcade where you kick my ass at some relatively obscure game. Maybe sky diving," he said.

"I don't know if I could sky dive, too much uncertainty for beginners. The adrenaline would make my heart feel like it couldn't keep up."

_My heart's having a hard time keeping up right now_, he thought.

* * *

><p><em>The ride could have been worse<em>, Jason thought. No one talked too much, or too loudly, no one talked too little, either. He felt strange caring about a date that he wasn't a part of besides being the driver, but that seemed to be what they needed. It had been a long time since he had to coach someone through the next step on a date, then it had been a 17 year old idiot going to Prom at the time, and even he had more of a clue than those guys.

The little Asian woman, Happy, was what his own girlfriend would call sassy. The other girl, Paige, she seemed normal, gracious almost compared to the man who had hired him. He could tell it was the first date for any of them in a very long time, if it wasn't someone's first date at all.

He kept his eyes on the road, focusing on each direction he had to follow, each turn he would make. If the date was going to hell, it wasn't going to be because of his driving.

"Can I ask where we're going now?" he had heard Paige say.

"Yes, but first let me tell you about the decision matrix that we used to –" Walter started.

"Shut up, Walter. She doesn't want to hear about the decision matrix," Toby said. "We're going to Winston's," he told her.

"Winston's?" Happy asked.

"How do you even know about Winston's?" Paige asked, stifling a giggle.

"We used a decision matrix."

"Did you make a reservation?" Paige asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"And they had a spot open for tonight?"

"Yes," Walter repeated.

"Are you sure they didn't say December 15? That place never has openings on short notice." Paige said, still skeptical.

"I am sure, also December 15th is a Monday. This was all a part of the decision matrix." Walter said.

"What the hell is a decision matrix?!"

Jason couldn't see it, but he suspected that Walter was smiling.

"A decision matrix is a list of values in columns and rows that allows the user to systematically identify, analyze, and rate the performance of relationships between sets of values and information."

"Did you just quote that from Wikipedia?" Toby asked.

"I wrote that on Wikipedia."

"Paige, it's a way for them to assign importance to different criteria and compare that value to known values. You then multiply the given value by the value you get from a reliable source, and the option with the highest score is the best decision." Happy explained. "Now will someone please tell me what Winston's is."

"It's without a doubt one of the most exclusive restaurants in southern California. It's on the Queen Mary, and most people have to make a reservation at least two weeks in advanced, so I'm wondering how they pulled that off."

It got so quiet that Jason could hear someone shifting in their seat.

"Paige, do you know if they take online reservations?"

"I think so."

"Walter, did you crack into the website and add us to the list?"

"Not exactly," Walter said.

"What does that mean, Walter," Paige asked.

"You know that … celebrity that you went on and on about hating yesterday?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, he's no longer going to be eating there tonight."

"And what are we going to do when he shows up and is expecting a table?"

"Oh, he won't."

"How can you be so sure?" Paige asked.

"Remember this morning when Cabe said he was going to be a part of the stupidest task force he's ever been on, tonight?"

"Yes, please get to the point."

"He's going to be on the team that arrests him for the property damage he caused at the court house."

Jason pulled the car to the valet/drop off area and hopped out, he was at the passenger door just in time to open it before Toby did.

After everyone was out, he pulled Walter off to the side. "Call if you need me to be here before 10, and uh, call if you need a second driver too."

"Why would we need a second driver?" Walter asked.

"The way she's looking at you, and the way he's looking at her," Jason said, pointing to both Paige and Happy. "You want to have a backup plan."

"Are all drivers this," Walter said, stopping to find the right word. "This involved?"

"No, but to be fair, you aren't my normal client either," Jason said with a smile.

Walter slipped a bill into Jason's hand and said, "I appreciate it."

* * *

><p>Dinner service went smoothly. Happy took the first chance she had at searching for Winston's on her phone, it helped her decide what she would order. She would never admit it, but ordering food at a new restaurant sometimes caused her a bit of anxiety.<p>

"Well, this isn't awkward at all," Paige said, pointing out the painfully obvious.

"How so?" Walter asked.

"I hate to say it, but _normally_, people talk more on double dates."

"Paige, did I tell you I'd emailed you my operations summary?" Toby asked.

"Did you get the copy that Sylvester put on your desk, I know the last one got misplaced," Walter said.

"Yes, and yes, and I don't want to talk about work, we have all day to talk about work."

"When was the last time someone called Sylvester to check on Ralph?" Happy offered.

"Sylvester will call if there's a problem. I also don't want to talk about Ralph, or Drew, or Cabe. Can we seriously not just talk?"

"Happy, did you finish the retrofit on the-"

"No, no, no, you're doing this wrong." Paige interrupted.

They all stared at her.

"Let's try this," Paige said, bringing out her phone. She spent a minute search for something, scrolling down and down until she finally stopped and said, "Would you rather have more time or more money?"

They all continued looking into her.

"Okay, I'll go first. I'd rather have more time. Time to finish my reports, time to spend with Ralph, time to-"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We ask that guests refrain from using electronic devices." A waitress told Paige.

"Oh, sorry," Paige said as the woman walked away. She sat back in her chair, a little defeated.

"I would opt for more money," Happy said. "I know it's not the nice answer, I know it's the selfish answer, but it's my answer."

"Time," Walter said. "Time with my sister, time with the team," he added.

From there, the double date improved exponentially. They came up with a few of their own would-you-rathers, they ate and joked, and then they talked about what to do next.

"We should get drinks," Paige offered.

"I'm game, but where?" Toby asked.

"My place, Ralph is at the garage, we can swing by the liquor store and just have fun, away from people for the rest of the night."

The waitress came over with their check as if she had been listening to their conversation. Walter took it without hesitation and slipped his card inside.

Happy resisted the urge to say she'd pay for her own, Paige had explained earlier how the splitting of the check was normally handled on double dates.

When the waitress came back with the receipt, they were ready to leave, to start the next phase of the evening. Happy noticed Walter sending a text message, she assumed it was to the driver, but she didn't want to ask.

The limo took them to the liquor store and then back to Paige's apartment where they proceeded to get more intoxicated than three of them had ever been before. It was midnight when Toby suggested he take Happy home.

"Change if you want to, Happy, but that dress looks a million times better on you than it ever did on me; _keep_ it!" Paige said, a little louder than necessary.

"I'll just grab my things then," she said as she left the living room, leaving Walter and Paige sitting on the couch and Toby standing by the door. She walked quickly back to Paige's bedroom, gathered her belongings and as she was ready to leave she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

_Not bad_, she thought. She walked a little closer to the mirror to check her makeup, and when she saw the mouth wash she decided it wouldn't hurt to freshen up.

She walked back out to the entry way in time to hear the end of Walter's joke, "We have two left brains." She suppressed a giggle.

"Paige loved that joke," he started to say.

"Paige loves all the jokes you try to tell," Paige said, using the third person for the second time that night.

"Are you ready, Happy?" Toby asked, his eyes bright despite the copious amounts of alcohol he had consumed.

She took his arm, nodded to her friends and walked out of the apartment. They were in the limo and on the way home quickly. "Jason, will you turn on the music?" Happy asked.

"Yes ma'am," he said, turning on some generic jazz music. "This good?" he asked. He put the privacy divider back up when she confirmed.

"Happy," Toby started.

She put her hand on his chest to stop him. "Toby," she said, leaning towards his face. "What would you say if I kissed you?" When he didn't respond right away, she had to tell herself that she surprised him. "Well," she said.

"I wouldn't say anything," he said as he put his hand behind her neck and brought her closer, close enough to breathe in the clean smell of mouth wash.

Happy pulled away from him slightly, it confused them both at first, but then she realized she moved so she could get closer. She climbed onto his lap, her legs straddling him, her head hovering just slightly above his; she wasn't trying to tease him, but it was working.

She was thankful they were on the highway, a residential or commercial area would have had too many stop lights and signs. On the highway they kept moving at a near constant rate. It allowed her to stay on top of him without worrying she would fall off.

"Happy," Toby said as he lifted his chest and head up, putting his hand behind her neck and crashing his lips onto hers. Toby wrapped one arm around her waist and held her closer. "I need you," he whispered into her neck.

Happy leaned back again and she started to loosen his tie and then undo the buttons of his shirt. She pulled his shirt out of his pants, pushed it off of his shoulders. Heat flooded her face when she realized exactly what she had done, but Toby's grip on her hips kept her on top of him.

They hadn't noticed the car slowing down, or the multiple turns they had taken, but they did notice when it stopped all together. With the limo no longer moving, they both started to think a little more clearly.

Happy moved back to sitting down on the seat. Toby buttoned some of his buttons back. They looked at each other almost confused. _Where do we go from here?_

She opened the car door and stepped out, not necessarily waiting for him. She leaned her head so she could see him again, "I'll be in my room," she said, intending for him to understand it as an invitation.

* * *

><p>AN - I hadn't intended it to be more of a Toby, Happy fic, but I think I like it better this way. If there is a second chapter, it will be shorter and set another year into the future - but I don't know that it needs one.


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